While the Washington snowstorm dominated news coverage this week, Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell was operating behind the scenes to rush through the
Senate what may be the most massive transfer of power from the Legislative
to the Executive branch in our history. The senior Senator from Kentucky is
scheming, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, to bypass normal Senate procedure
to fast-track legislation to grant the president the authority to wage unlimited
war for as long as he or his successors may wish.
The legislation makes the unconstitutional Iraq War authorization of 2002
look like a walk in the park. It will allow this president and future presidents
to wage war against ISIS without restrictions on time, geographic scope, or
the use of ground troops. It is a completely open-ended authorization for the
president to use the military as he wishes for as long as he (or she) wishes.
Even President Obama has expressed concern over how willing Congress is to
hand him unlimited power to wage war.
President Obama has already far surpassed even his predecessor, George W.
Bush, in taking the country to war without even the fig leaf of an authorization.
In 2011 the president invaded Libya, overthrew its government, and oversaw
the assassination of its leader, without even bothering to ask for Congressional
approval. Instead of impeachment, which he deserved for the disastrous Libya
invasion, Congress said nothing. House Republicans only managed to bring the
subject up when they thought they might gain political points exploiting the
killing of US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi.
It is becoming more clear that Washington plans to expand its war in the Middle
East. Last week the media reported that the US military had taken over an air
base in eastern Syria, and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that the US
would send in the 101st Airborne Division to retake Mosul in Iraq and to attack
ISIS headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. Then on Saturday, Vice President Joe Biden
said that if the upcoming peace talks in Geneva are not successful, the US
is prepared for a massive military intervention in Syria. Such an action would
likely place the US military face to face with the Russian military, whose
assistance was requested by the Syrian government. In contrast, we must remember
that the US military is operating in Syria in violation of international law.
The prospects of such an escalation are not all that far-fetched. At the insistence
of Saudi Arabia and with US backing, the representatives of the Syrian opposition
at the Geneva peace talks will include members of the Army of Islam, which
has fought with al-Qaeda in Syria. Does anyone expect these kinds of people
to compromise? Isn't al-Qaeda supposed to be our enemy?
The purpose of the Legislative branch of our government is to restrict the
Executive branch's power. The Founders understood that an all-powerful king
who could wage war at will was the greatest threat to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. That is why they created a people's branch, the Congress,
to prevent the emergence of an all-powerful autocrat to drag the country to
endless war. Sadly, Congress is surrendering its power to declare war.
Let's be clear: If Senate Majority Leader McConnell succeeds in passing this
open-ended war authorization, the US Constitution will be all but a dead letter.
